As soon as they had drawn off, Charlie entered the fort. The rajah
received him with the greatest warmth. He was, however, much
distressed at the capture of a hill fort, at some distance from
Permacoil. In this he had stowed his wives and treasure, thinking that
it would be unmolested. The French, however, had, just before
Charlie's arrival, detached a strong force with some guns, and these
had captured the place. The force which had accomplished this had, he
now heard, marched to Trinavody, a fort and town thirty miles away,
upon the road by which the force which had besieged the town was
retiring. The treasure was a considerable one, amounting to seven lacs
of rupees, and as the rajah stated his willingness that the troops
should take possession of this, if they could but rescue his women,
Charlie at once determined to attempt the feat.
The main body of the enemy would not reach the place, until the
afternoon of the following day. Charlie soon collected his men and,
making a detour through the country, arrived next morning within a
mile of Trinavody.
The town was a small one, and the fort one of the ordinary native
forts, built in a parallelogram with flanking towers.
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